Dahlan Participates in Hamas Public Meeting for First Time

Gaza- Exiled Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan took part on Thursday in a public meeting with Hamas members of parliament for the first time in a decade.

Hamas called for a public meeting to discuss the condition in al-Aqsa Mosque – Seven exiled Fatah members in addition to Dahlan attended the session while MPs loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other parliamentary blocks absented themselves.

The attendance of Dahlan – also a member of the parliament – hinted on his new alliance with Hamas after being enemies during the internal clashes in 2006-2007. He met leaders of Hamas in Egypt, within a new alliance that included cooperating for the sake of Gaza.

Dahlan in his speech said that Jerusalem and holy sites are a time bomb that shouldn’t be messed with.

“I see in Jerusalem people a deviating strength that enjoys factors of communication and continuity in the purpose of ending the occupation through an escalating comprehensive resistance,” he added.

This requires that division be ended and unity underpinned to back the people of Jerusalem, he continued, urging for overcoming Palestinian disputes to mobilize Arab powers for the purpose of liberating Jerusalem.

“We exerted joint efforts with Hamas and we succeeded in restoring hope to the heroic people of Gaza. We found that Hamas has the readiness, understanding and positivity like us, and this cooperation would pay off but we are still in the beginning,” he added.

Fatah or the authority didn’t comment over Dahlan attendance to the meeting, but some officials in the movement described the alliance as suspicious, accusing Dahlan and Hamas of working to detach Gaza from the West Bank – a matter denied by the two parties.